Introduction. At the turn of the eighteenth century, the Kazakh Khanate was under strong pressure from the Dzungar Khanate, took simultaneous diplomatic steps to establish relations with Russia and maintain contacts with neighboring Central Asian states. Khan Tauke (1680–1718) emerged as a most authoritative ruler of the period. His activities were aimed at strengthening khan’s authority and power, ending internal conflicts, and shaping customary law through the introduction of the Zheti Zhargy code. A distinctive aspect of his foreign policy was the establishment of alliances with the Kyrgyz, which yielded a united front against the Dzungar aggression. Goals. The study attempts an analysis into some particulars of Khan Tauke’s domestic and foreign policies, and highlights the role of Kazakh–Kyrgyz cooperation in resisting the Dzungar pressure. Materials and methods. The work focuses on materials from St. Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SPbF ARAN) and the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts (RGADA), as well as on published sources, including Epistolary Heritage of Kazakh Ruling Elites, works by A. Levshin and L. Meyer, modern historiographical editions. The study employs the principles of historicism, objectivity, and systemic analysis in combination with a value-based approach that helps interpret Khan Tauke’s policies in wider historical contexts of early modern Central Asia. Results. The paper shows that Khan Tauke succeeded in overcoming internal feuds, strengthened the authority of biys, and institutionalized legal norms through the Zheti Zhargy. His foreign policy combined defensive measures against the Dzungar, diplomatic contacts with Russia, and systematic cooperation with the Kyrgyz. The participation of Kyrgyz biys in joint assemblies and the integration of Kyrgyz elites, such as Kokum Biy, into the governance system of the Khanate reflected the institutionalized character of these alliances. At the same time, Khan Tauke was seeking to stabilize relations with the Kalmyk and temporarily reduced tensions on the western borders. These measures ensured relative stability within the Khanate and strengthened its international standing. The institutionalization of Kazakh-Kyrgyz cooperation under Khan Tauke thus seems a key episode of steppe diplomacy that offers new perspectives for understanding mechanisms of political survival in early modern Central Asia.

Introduction. Eighteenth-century Dzungar-Kazakh-Kalmyk relations need further comprehensive and careful historical insights that would involve newly discovered archival data. The complicated relations between the specified nomadic peoples did affect various political problems that would be primarily tackled by the Russian government. Goals. The article attempts an analysis and gives an objective assessment of the 1720s Dzungar–Kazakh-Kalmyk relations with due regard of the to-be-introduced archival messages. Materials. The work focuses on materials from the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire, Russian State Archive of Military History, and Kalmykia’s National Archive. Particular attention is paid to a number of published documents. Results. The involved sources prove instrumental in reconstructing a fairly detailed chronology of Dzungar-Kazakh-Kalmyk relations in the Years of Great Disaster, which secures opportunities for further research into the topic. Conclusions. The Years of Great Disasters had most negative consequences for Kazakh society. The mass westward migration of Kazakhs also led to land conflicts with neighboring populations — Volga Kalmyks and Bashkirs. The two-front military operations — against Dzungars and Kalmyks — somewhat weakened Kazakhs. The minor local military successes of the Volga Kalmyks could not stop the further westward Kazakh expansion. Under the pressure of Dzungar troops, the Kazakh rulers were seeking for paths of possible retreat into the Northern Caspian steppes, and through clashes would shape relations with the Volga Kalmyks on a contractual basis. However, the lack of political unity in the Kalmyk Khanate made it quite vulnerable to external aggression from neighboring nomadic groups.

Introduction. In the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, the educational movement of Jadidism spread across the Kazakh steppes. The Jadids were modernists, progressives, it was a movement for the renewal and reformation of society. In the Kazakh steppe, Jadidism emerged as a significant phenomenon that shaped national culture, ideology, and the popular enlightenment movement. Goals. The study primarily aims to analyze narratives on the development of Kazakh society in the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth centuries containing attempts of Jadids to modernize the sociocultural, educational and political life of Kazakhstan. Materials and methods. The sources for this study include documents of the Chancellery of the Steppe Governor-General and Inspectors of Public Schools from the Central State Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Additionally, published documentary materials and periodicals have been used as sources. In writing the article, the authors adhered to the principle of historicism. Results. Jadidism was a sociopolitical movement aimed at renewing Islamic culture and society, restructuring the Muslim school system, and implementing reforms that radically altered the content and structure of primary education. The incorporation into different territorial administrative units, on the one hand, slowed the involvement of Kazakhs into the orbit of Jadidist reforms; on the other hand, it opened opportunities for the development of independent actions by Kazakh Jadidist, whose active activities would primarily unfold in the territory of the Steppe Governorate-General. Conclusions. The reform in the field of public education undertaken by the Jadids in a European spirit at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries had a most noticeable impact on the sociopolitical and spiritual life of the Kazakh people.

Introduction. Ustuu-Khuree Monastery rightfully holds a special place in the history of Tuva. As the largest monastery in Western Uriankhai, in the early twentieth century it became a spiritual enlightenment center to serve as starting point for a number of prominent state and public figures of the Tuvan People’s Republic. The monastery’s structure, Buddhist education system and clergy have been described in fairly great detail by historians and religion scholars. However, the interaction between Ustuu-Khuree-based clergy and priests of Mongolia and Tibet remains somewhat understudied to date. Only the introduction of previously unknown historical sources into scientific circulation makes it possible to establish that there had been close spiritual ties between Ustuu-Khuree and Labrang Monastery (Tibet). Goals. The article attempts a detailed description of Tuvan-Tibetan spiritual ties through the example of cooperation between Ustuu-Khuree and Labrang. To facilitate this, the paper shall clarify the dates of Tibetan clerics’ visits to Tuva, consider forms, methods and results of their activities in the region. Materials and methods. The main historical sources are unique interrogation records of Tuvan priests who would be charged with counterrevolutionary crimes over the years. So, the latter specify the date when two Tibetan Lamas from Labrang — Fourth Nyendak San and Fifth Denbiy Nyima Kuntang Rinpoche characterized as revered reincarnate spiritual masters — arrived in Tuva at the invitation of Daa Khoshun’s ruler Khaidip and local Buddhist hierarchs. Both general scientific and specific historical research methods and approaches have been employed. The comparative historical method has proved instrumental in analyzing archival documents to reconstruct actual historical processes, identify the ties between Ustuu-Khuree and Labrang as such, and correlate messages from different sources. The chronological method shows some essential transformations of the monastery and its integration into Tibetan Buddhism’s agenda in order of time through the Tuvan clergy’s efforts and those of invited masters from Tibet. Results. The work identifies some key directions of activity endeavored by the Tibetan Lamas for the development and strengthening of Buddhism in early twentieth century Tuva. They took part in the opening of Ustuu-Khuree’s temples — the main clay temple and Tsanit Datsan. Rev. Nyendak San would organize the educational process on foundations of Tibetan medicine. The Tuvan clergy requested Rev. Denbiy Nyima Kuntang Rinpoche to compile a Tibetan-language text to deliver blessings upon certain territories, mountains and rivers. The Ritual [Text] of San-Offering to Tandy’s Master Spirits is still being used by local Buddhist priests. In addition, the Tibetan hierarchs gave detailed instructions for further development of Buddhism in Tuva — the construction of temples, sending of Tuvan novices to large monastic universities in Tibet and Mongolia.

Goals. The article seeks to examine the symbolic and sociocultural significance of shoes with upturned toes referred to as ‘Hattian’ in the iconography of Bronze and Iron Age artifacts discovered in the territory of modern Armenia. To facilitate this, the paper shall investigate references and features of footwear with upturned toes in textual and visual sources from Anatolia of the Hittite period; identify and analyze similar images in archaeological materials excavated in Armenia and neighboring regions; assess the symbolic meaning of this shoe type in the context of religion, social relations and politics; consider the role of the shoes in question as an example of transmission and local adaptation of cultural motifs from Anatolia in the South Caucasus during the Bronze and Iron Ages. Materials. The study relies on mentions in Hittite cuneiform texts and images of these shoes in archaeological materials, primarily on goblets, belts, figurines and scabbards, in order to trace their distribution and local features of their adaptation. Often associated with gods, kings, and priests, this shoe type reflects ideological notions of power and mediation between the mortal world and that of the gods. Despite the fact such shoes originate from the cultural traditions of ancient Anatolia, the presence of such shoes in the territory of Armenia indicates a complex process of transformation of symbols at the local level. Furthermore, the study examines archaeological and iconographic data in a broader Middle Eastern context, compares elements of ritual clothing as part of material culture to those of Anatolia, Mesopotamia and the South Caucasus. Results. Artifacts from the South Caucasus show vivid iconographic parallels with the Anatolian samples. A most important artifact discovered in Armenia is the Karashamb Goblet (22nd–21st centuries BC) with all the depicted figures to wear shoes with toes turned up. The iconography of the goblet reflects the style common in Mesopotamia and Anatolia, especially with regard to clothing and symbolic poses. Similar motifs are present on the Trialeti Goblet from Georgia. Images of such shoes are also found on bronze belts of the late Bronze Age, for example, on the belt from Lchashen, Armenia (12th–11th centuries BC) where the depicted charioteer wears boots with elongated tops and upturned toes. A fragment of the belt from Khojaly (Azerbaijan) also depicts a hunter in a helmet and shoes with upturned toes, presumably a deity or demigod, with a dagger in one hand and the paw of an attacking beast in the other. Another important example is the standard sculpture from Shirakavan, Armenia (15th–14th centuries BC) with a central figure of some mythological hero hunter wearing half-boots with upturned toes. The composition of the standard with individual figures of man, lion and bird demonstrates a high level of craft and symbol synthesis. This tradition continues into the early Iron Age, as evidenced by the bronze scabbard from Lori Berd, Armenia (7th–6th centuries BC) with an engraving of a man in shoes with upturned toes in front of a winged lion and a long-necked bird.

Introduction. In the 1230s, as part of the Kipchak Campaign, a Mongol military corps led by Prince Möngke conquered Kipchak nomads of the Volga steppes. The Mongols encountered fierce resistance from Elburi Kipchaks under their leader Bachman. The Elburi Kipchak tribal union was destroyed and dispersed — only to be further incorporated into the Bashkir, Kyrgyz and Tatar peoples. Goals. The study attempts an insight into how the medieval Kipchak tribal union led by Bachman was disintegrated and further included into Bashkir, Kyrgyz, and Tatar communities. Materials and methods. The work involves a wide range of written sources, such as Rashid al-Din’s Jami‘ al-Tawarikh (Compendium of Chronicles), Yuan Shi (Histories of Yuan), Heida Shilue (Brief Notes on the Black Tatar) by Peng Daya and Xu Ting, Zizhi Tongjian Gangmu (Outline and Details of the Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Government) edited by Zhu Xi, Ata-Malik Juvayni’s Tarikh-i Jahangushay (History of the World Conqueror), anonymous Daftar-i Čingiz-nāma, Russian chronicles, Bashkir, Tatar, Kazakh and Kyrgyz genealogical tables, legends and tales. The study attempts a component analysis into ethnic structures of the Bashkir, Kyrgyz and Tatar peoples to determine how and when Elburi Kipchaks were incorporated into the specified groups. Results. The article is first to secure a special study of how Bachman-led Elburi tribal group was disintegrated and later assimilated into the Bashkir, Kyrgyz, Tatar, and, possibly, Kazakh populations. It is shown that despite the immense resistance Bachman’s Kipchaks were defeated by Mongols, which led to that some of them became subordinate to new elites of the Volga steppes, while others fled northwards to become part of the Bashkir and Tatar peoples. One group of Elburi Kipchaks would finally penetrate into the Tian Shan to form part of the Kyrgyz with Bachman as their ethnonym and folk memories of Kipchak origins.

 Introduction. The history of the spread of Christianity (Orthodox Christianity) is a topical area of scholarly research. Particular attention should be paid to the spread (process) of Christianization in Yakutia, since it contributed to the region’s integration into the Russian state. One noteworthy evidence of this process in material culture is the sürekh (syurekh) pectoral cross which has become a component of the women’s traditional Yakut costume. Despite its symbolic significance, this adornment remains a little-known element of material culture. Goals. The study attempts a comprehensive analysis of the pectoral decoration. To facilitate this, the work shall outline the history of the Yakut pectoral cross; identify its structural features, symbolic essentials; trace the transformation of its meaning and form in Soviet and post-Soviet periods. Materials and methods. The paper focuses on items contained in federal and regional museum collections, field data gathered from across Yakutia’s districts and among Yessey Yakuts of Krasnoyarsk Krai. The employed methods include those of historical genetic and visual analyses, the comparative typological and interview ones. The study resumes the Yakut pectoral cross sürekh (syurekh) be a vivid example of syncretism in Yakut culture. So, the adornment combines the canonical shape of an Orthodox cross and some traditional elements, such as chain, ornamented plate, and functional pendants. In the ethnographic period, the cross may have not only been a symbol of belonging to faith and church but also an alternative, more accessible pectoral decorating element — aside from ilin kebiher (ilin kebiser). In the Soviet atheist era, sürekh (syurekh) has experienced certain transformation: the cross disappears as key element of pectoral decorative patterns — to become a home-stored heirloom. Nowadays, the adornment is rather perceived from aesthetic perspectives and is less widespread than ilin kebiher (ilin kebiser). Sürekhs are basically made on private orders. So, the item acquired a dual nature, thus serving a vivid example of cultural syncretism.

 Introduction. In Buddhism, human birth is considered a rare opportunity and the best condition — to put an end to further births and attain the utmost spiritual goals. In comparison to other realms of existence in saṃsāra (animals, pretas, etc.), the human realm is referred to as ‘the fortunate one’ and birth in a human body is called ‘the precious (Tib. rinchen) birth’. Goals. The work seeks to examine the concept of the preciousness of human birth and its central role in Buddhist practice. Materials and methods. The study attempts a textual analysis of the fundamental treatise in the Gelug sect — Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Tib. Lamrim Chenmo) by Je Tsongkhapa. The study employs a cultural anthropological approach aimed at constructing ideas about the value and meaning of human birth in Buddhist worldviews. Results. Je Tsongkhapa deems human birth not a random event but rather a rare and auspicious result of the accumulation of merits (Tib. sodnam) and karmic responsibility. To understand the preciousness of human birth, Je Tsongkhapa analyzes its causes and conditions in detail, draws attention to the incredible difficulty of attaining the former. Practices of contemplating the nature of impermanence and the inevitability of death are to contribute not only to conscious living but also to conscious dying, i.e. without fear or attachment that serve key obstacles to a better rebirth. In Je Tsongkhapa’s teaching, the practice of contemplating death is an active, profound and transformative process, and is a crucial element for spiritual realization. The paper notes that Je Tsongkhapa takes the concept of ālāyavijñāna (storehouse-consciousness) from Chittamatra to adapt it within the contexts of Madhyamaka and, thus, explain the mechanism of rebirth and the continuity of karma. It is concluded that the concept of the preciousness of human birth functions not as an isolated doctrine at the stage of preparatory teachings but rather plays a system-forming role in the entire Lamrim teaching.

Introduction. The article deals with the history of relations between the Kazakh Khanate and Safavid Iran. Despite these states were separated by the vast lands of Transoxiana — first under the Shibanids and later under the Ashtarkhanids — they did have political, diplomatic and other ties. Goals. The work examines available written messages and museum collections of Kazakhstan for a comprehensive insight into Kazakh-Safavid relations. Materials and methods. The paper focuses on related written sources and museum exhibits of Kazakhstan. Particular attention is paid to Persian-language narrative writings of Safavid historiography. These basically include historical works dedicated to Shah Ismail I and his successors, such as Tarikh-i Shah Ismail, Alam-ara-yi Safavi and others. Some published Russian ambassadorial materials have also been involved. The study employs key methods of historical research (descriptive, historical comparative methods and other generally accepted tools and approaches). The descriptive method proves central to reconstructing events and describing how they developed over time, while the rest have served as somewhat supplements to the former. Results. Various written sources indicate that contacts between the Kazakh Khanate’s population and that of Safavid Iran began already in the early sixteenth century, when Shah Ismail I and his successors launched active military and political campaigns in Khorasan and Transoxiana. Although Kazakh rulers of the specified period had been supporting the Shibanids of the Bukhara Khanate and opposing the Safavids together with the latter, in decades to come leaders of the Kazakh and Safavid states would become interested in forming an alliance to wage war against the Shibanid Abdullah Khan. Written records suggest that Tauekel Khan of the Kazakh did attempt to establish ties with Shah Abbas but no results of these efforts were ever documented in medieval sources. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that such a military and political alliance between the Kazakh and the Safavid did exist, and that they did coordinate their military endeavors against the Khan of the Uzbek. Written sources also attest to some active contacts between Khan Tauke and Safavid rulers in the mid-to-late seventeenth century. Conclusions. These long-lived contacts between the Kazakh Khanate and Safavid Iran reflected in written sources are confirmed with Kazakhstan’s museum artifacts that serve as material evidence of due cultural interaction. Various historical sources show it was during the Safavid period that this cultural exchange became particularly intense. Museum materials further demonstrate that the influence of Iranian weaponry culture is most evident in the traditional armament of Western Kazakhstan which is geographically closer to Iran.

Introduction. The article examines current issues related to the compilation of a parallel Tibetan-Oirat corpus. These include identifying the full range of translated Oirat texts and authorship of translations by Zaya Pandita Namkhai Jamtso (17th century), representatives of his school, and their followers. Goals. The article aims to analyze the translated texts to uncover authorship, establish full titles of works translated by Zaya Pandita and his followers included in the Corpus, and resolve the issue of authorship using one sample text. Materials. The study focuses on texts from Zaya Pandita’s translations, contents of their colophons (afterwords), and the biographies of Je Tsongkhapa in Tibetan and Oirat. Conclusions. Colophons are an important source for establishing authorship of a translation, dating a work, its full title, and revealing names of its commissioners, copyists, and carvers. A text may have not one but two colophons. In the absence of an afterword, a textual analysis is required that would take into account data from all levels of language. This analysis makes it possible to establish the rules and principles of translation adhered to by the translator (or their absence), i.e. all the issues that the parallel Tibetan-Oirat corpus aims to address. Regarding the authorship of Je Tsongkhapa’s Oirat verse namtar, the study supports the view of L. Terbish and Kh. Byambazhav who consider it to be an original work of Erdeni Jachung Khambo Khutugtu, the 14th abbot of Jachung Monastery in Amdo. Comparison of this work to a sample of Tibetan namtars shall help determine which texts may have served as the source for the verse version.

Introduction. The paper examines the historical significance and textual structure of a Tibetan manuscript Kangyur from the Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies (SB RAS). Goals. The work aims to introduce into scientific circulation the specified manuscript set of the Buddhist canon. Methods. Methodologically, the study rests on ‘cognitive history’ and some concepts of historical phenomenology. Results. The source analysis of the collection helps understand the historical significance of the Tibetan manuscript Kangyur and outlines some specifics of Buddhist book culture in the Baikal region throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The main research problem is to reconstruct historical conditions for the emergence of practices of copying the Buddhist canon in Russia’s regions — to further determine the place of this collection in the present-day book system nationwide. Conclusions. The Tibetan manuscript Kangyur (IMBTS SB RAS) may serve a fundamental source for various researchers specializing in source, historical and social studies. The to-be-introduced manuscript Kangyur attests to Buryat monasteries established a consistent practice of copying Tibetan Kangyurs in the eighteenth to mid-nineteenth centuries. This practice was based on doctrinal Buddhist principles and served to pursue a socially pragmatic objective — establishment of a religious center with Kangyur canonical book collection — in contexts of limited resources and interrupted religious or commercial ties with Tibet.

Goals. The article aims to examine a petition submitted to State Property Minister M. N. Ostrovsky by Kalmyk representatives during his visit to Kalmyk Steppe. Materials and methods. The study is based on records management documents form Kalmykia’s National Archive (coll. ‘Kalmyk People’s Governance Department’). Special attention has been paid to related scholarly publications of pre-revolutionary and contemporary eras. The source study method has proved central to identifying and analyzing the factual material. The data processing efforts rest on common scientific principles of analysis, synthesis and generalization. Results. The petition contained requests for land- and religion-related improvements, and was rooted in the severe difficulties experienced by Kalmyk livestock farming in the nineteenth century. One pressing issue was that of quitrent and peasant livestock driving through Kalmyk-inhabited lands which would significantly reduce the size and quality of pastures. Kalmyks from coastal uluses (districts) requested permission to use lands within the coastal strip for nomadizing, grazing, and haymaking. The third request dealt with the afforded number of Buddhist clerics. However, the examined document and subsequent events show that far not all such petitions and requests of Kalmyks found support from officials. The Most Humble Report as a summary of the visit is indicative of the Minister’s actual opinions and proposals. Despite both the petition’s authors and Minister proper were seeking to improve conditions for the Kalmyk people, the sides did disagree on determining to-be-selected ways and means. So, one can resume the petition in question was destined to lack any efficient support, since it was inconsistent with both the Government’s core policies and the Ministry’s attitudes of that period.

Goals. With due regard of the existing worldview and aesthetic theories, the article examines D. Sugralinov’s Metagame. Awakening for an analysis into its laughing word and the latter’s functions at various levels. In Kazakhstani literary and academic discourse, the article is first to comprehensively analyze functions of laughing word in a narrative by a modern Kazakhstani author. Methods. The comparative historical, typological, sociocultural methods and that of holistic analysis have proved instrumental in revealing sources for the emergence of laughing word’s motif, determining its character (whether constant or episodic), identifying its aesthetic and semantic functions in fiction text structures. Results. The paper examines laughing word as integral to the theory of laughter culture rooted in M. Bakhtin’s studies, and understands the former as a universal means of artistic modeling of reality. This is a complicated artistic and aesthetic pattern that includes such techniques of expressing the comic as irony, mockery, smiles, giggles, etc. The philological analysis has revealed that, firstly, laughing word in the literary text acts not simply as a comic element but also as a universal means of shaping the protagonist and author’s world image, expressing features inherent to playful and ironic consciousness of an individual in the digital age. Secondly, the forms of laughing word’s manifestation — smiles, irony, sarcasm and mockery — prove elements that fulfill portraying, landscape, speech and psychological functions. Thirdly, laughing word reveals the inner world of the protagonist — Matvey Kolesnikov, a nineteen-year-old boy who has until recently suffered from cerebral palsy. So, his self-irony and critical perceptions of reality reflect the specific nature of his lateral thinking. In D. Sugralinov’s novel, laughing word takes carnival-like, festive forms. It shapes a unique world image in which the comic is not always funny but rather becomes a means of philosophical understanding of life.

Introduction. The article examines lexical and phonetic features of Abyisky Yakut — a least studied dialect of the northeastern zone. Goals. The study seeks to document and analyze linguistic characteristics of the specified dialect traced in field data collected in 2025 across Abyisky District of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia). Special attention is paid to lexical particulars shaped by long-term language contact with Even and Russian. Results. The paper provides a detailed analysis of Tungus-Manchu loanwords, primarily ones related to hunting and fishing, as well as Russian borrowings phonetically adapted to Yakut. Of particular interest are motivationally driven nominations that reflect the connection between language, traditional culture, and subsistence practices of the local population. The phonetic section includes a thorough insight into the vowel and consonant systems. The study identifies some archaic features, such as akanye, shortening of long vowels, nasalization of consonants, and interference with literary norms. The work shows the present-day dialect is characterized by mixed use of both dialectal and literary patterns indicative of its active transformation. The obtained results are of significant value for Yakut dialectology, areal linguistics and comparative studies. The collected data shall contribute to the preservation of the linguistic diversity of Russia’s North and may be used in lexicographic and ethnolinguistic practices. The study somewhat opens prospects for the creation of a multimedia dialect atlas and further investigation of language contact mechanisms in multiethnic regions. The conducted research makes an essential contribution to the documentation of endangered dialects and broadens the understanding of Yakut dialectal diversity. The work can be of certain interest to both linguists proper and researchers engaged in language policies and preservation.